Friction
by Resting Sovereign
Summary: -is still friction when it comes to lower body parts. Drabble collection of different genres. Cross-posted from AO3.
1. UST

"Just try," Eren snarls as Jean tightens his hold on Eren's neck, an elbow digging more forcefully against his ribs in retaliation.

All the members of the 104th squad are around them, cheering and shouting their bets as the trainers watch on from an elevated area. It is an official fight, scores made from each blow they land on their opponent's body. The heavier the hit, the higher the point it makes.

Right now, it's Eren Yeager and Jean Kirstein in the middle, both trapped in each other's deadlock.

Jean lies flat on his back, one hand keeping a tight grip on Eren's neck above him and the other hand busy in restraining Eren from delivering a second elbow to his body. Their legs are hopelessly tangled together too so not much way on that part.

"Stop wriggling, you goddamn-" Jean cuts himself off as Eren tries to squirm harder and chokes as Jean nearly crushes a windpipe in surprise. Jean grunts as the elbow lifts and lands a harder blow on his abused side.

"Fuck you!"

Eren thrashes a bit more and-

Fuck. Friction is still friction when it comes to lower body parts.

When Eren suddenly stops in his struggles, body going rigid above Jean, he feels his face flame red in mortification. It might not be obvious to the people watching but it sure as hell fucking felt by Eren who had gone as still as a statue.

"Jean," if the voice isn't directly above him, Jean might not have noticed the nearly silent hiss from his internal litany of fucks, damns, and shits to the betrayal of his body functions.

"What, I'm sorry alright?" Jean harshly whispers back, pride be damned but he'd gladly lose this match as long as Eren keeps his mouth shut.

Eren keeps silent and if the sudden stillness of the competitors, namely them, seems weird to those watching and brings about the start of hushed and suspicious questions, Jean can't be bothered to give the slightest care.

His concern at the present is-

"I give up!"

Eren's unexpected shout echoes loud at the sudden silence. It bewilders Jean enough that his hold goes lax and Eren manages to maneuver to a kneeling position, holding an outstretched hand to Jean.

He accepts the help and Jean notices that Eren had moved in a position that blocks most of the view of the other people to his crotch (because the one set back to their uniform is that it can be unbelievably tight and outline the most inappropriate of parts).

He looks at Eren and despite the serious face the other is sporting, the struggle of not laughing out loud is quite obvious. As obvious as the answering reaction by Eren's body.

Jean raises a brow and Eren's flushes just in time as his name is called for winning the match.

Ah, victory is sweet.


	2. Humor

In the Scouting Legion, there can rarely be moments of peace. Or vacation, as the older members had taken to calling it.

With the sudden lack of titan attacks and scouting missions handed out by Corporal Levi that involves the newest recruits, the remaining members of the 104th squad in this particular branch of duty finds a sudden abundance of free time in their hands.

Jean amongst them.

Unfortunately, Jean thinks, so is Eren.

"Why, in the name of all that is holy, are you following me?" The rush of anger that fills every pores of his body is easy to come by whenever he sees the open expressions of Eren, feels the presence of Eren, hears the strong voice of Eren, smells the distinct scent of Eren, and tastes an inexplicable bitterness on his tongue at the mere thought of Eren with Levi.

Shaking off that particular path of thought, Jean rolls his eyes as Eren bristles in indignation. Randomly reminding Jean of an overgrown kitten hissing at a ball of yarn.

"Well?" Jean taps his foot impatiently, eyeing Eren and waiting for some sort of explanation.

Eren opens his mouth, probably to spout another nonsense excuses, but then he closes it again and visibly deflates. Now it's Jean who's frowning in bemusement.

"If you're not gonna say something, let's both part our ways here and sto-" Jean pauses as Eren hunches his shoulders, looking like a kicked puppy this time.

He sighs.

"What do you want?"

"I can't," Eren mumbles the next words, too low for Jean to properly understand.

"What?"

"I said, I can't find Mikasa or Armin and you're the first person I saw so!" Eren frowns at him with misplaced defiance.

So? So what?

"I don't follow." Jean deadpans. Clearly, changing to a titan isn't good for the brain. The other boy might be finally showing symptoms of a mental illness.

"We're spending our break together!"

Jean stares at Eren in dumbfounded disbelief as his mind tries to process the statement. The moment it sinks in, his jaw drops and an inexplicable fluttery feeling develops in his stomach. He offhandedly thinks that he doesn't remember eating something bad for indigestion.

"Uh. Okay."

Damn it, it's contagious.


	3. Angst

"Let's stop this." Jean mutters, head hanging low and body taut with tension.

The smile on Eren face freezes, his happy chatter falling flat and stopping abruptly. The noise of the market are loud on the sudden silence between them. But there is nothing more louder than the painful ringing of Jean's words in his ears.

Eren's hand drops limply to his sides, the previous warmth encasing it withdraws to its owner's pocket. His feet continues to move, the previous carefree movement now dragging but still falling in step with the other.

"I'm tired, Eren. So fucking tired."

The bustling movements around them doesn't stop. People are unaware and uncaring that among them, something is breaking.

Eren grits his teeth, throat closing up and something painful tugging at the vicinity of his chest. His hands are clenched tight, blunt nails digging deep in his palm and threatening to break skin. To break his restraint.

They stop and Eren barely registers the surroundings, the big boulder that marks humanity's first win and step to everything. The place is empty, only the faraway sounds of gas tanks and muffled sounds of market penetrating the thick silence.

"Why?" A part of Eren marvels at the sound of his voice, steady and without a trace of the scream that's echoing a while in his head.

Stillness answers him and as the time ticks on, Eren's hands start to shake. To punch Jean or to shake the other for reason, Eren doesn't know. The only thing he is certain is the worsening sting in his eyes.

When Jean looks up, looks at him straight in the eyes, Eren sees a reflection of his own expression. There is regret, and pain and love and and more regret that takes away the sting. It falls down, a salty trail in his dry cheeks.

"I-" Eren barely feels the bit of satisfaction as Jean's voice cracks. "I love you."

Jean's warm hands cups his face, leaning forward and resting his forehead against Eren's. His eyes are closed and this close, Eren could breathe in Jean's familiar scent, could admire those lashes and the curve of his lips.

"I'm a coward, Eren, and I love you too much."

And Eren, as Jean presses their lips together for the last time, curses the world as he understands.


	4. Genderswap AU

Eren shifts, the soft satin cloth slides down with her movement and exposes more of her skin.

The ball is a chore. A mandatory requirement for military trainees in the eve of their graduation, an opportunity presented by their school for a chance to socialize with army trainees beyond the class and meet military elites and establish a connection.

Eren has no interest is those things though. She'd rather spend their last night in the barracks in the training room and further polishing her prided combat skills (second only to Mikasa, the resident monster prodigy of their year).

But it isn't possible.

Instead, she contents herself in watching couples sway in the gentle music on the dance floor. She idly passes the time like this, sipping top grade wine the school surprisingly relented to provide. Their table is empty of its other occupants, her other friends mingling and Armin succeeding in leading Mikasa to some place else even if she is normally as aloof as her.

"Hey."

Eren nearly spills the rest of the red liquid on her dress, startling at the sudden appearance of her unofficial rival, one Jean Kirstein who ranks sixth in combat skills.

And who, admittedly, looks dashing in a gray suit and tie that matches him almost perfectly. Not that Eren cares because that's just ridiculous.

"What?" She sets the glass down on the table, looking at Jean curiously and noticing the other staring at her in a daze.

Feeling self-concious, she discreetly re-evaluates Sasha's choice of a simple deep green strapless dress. It has a tight bodice, accentuating her chest and revealing more skin that she would have normally permit, if it isn't for the shawl she brought with her.

Which, apparently, had fallen down her back and is now exposing the said skin to Jean's gaze. Pervert.

Irritated, Eren clears her throat, making Jean snap his gaze almost guiltily to her eyes.

"You're a pervert." She accuses but with no real heat behind her words. By mutual understanding, their animosity are on hold for the night.

Jean disgracefully splutters before recomposing himself and flops down the vacated seat of Armin to her right.

"So," Jean grins and Eren almost feels offended how Jean can look that cool tonight. "Want to dance?"

Eren scoffs, "No, thanks. You're the third one to approach me in the span of, well, twenty minutes?"

"I know," Jean shrugs, "I saw. I don't like to dance either."

"Then why did you ask?"

"Seems like a good opening." He snickers and Eren fights the sudden urge to empty her glass in Jean's lap.

"Go away. Your presence is unwelcome at this table."

"Tough luck, I'm staying."

And if the night passes with two hands ending up entwined, comfortable silence settling down in a particular table, and two people find themselves a little bit closer to each other, well then so be it.

Eren thinks balls might not be so bad after all.


	5. HurtComfort

Yesterday is an anniversary. A national day of mourning declared by the government to remember the loss and the lost from years ago. It's yesterday that the people are subdued, letting their thoughts roam more than their feet. The scent of burning wick permeated the air, a little ball of flame visible from every window, every door, and the fumes from gas tanks are replaced by candle smoke.

Today, Eren wakes up with stiff limbs and drying tear tracks on his cheeks. He rejoins reality with a lingering dream of laughter in his ears and familiar smiles in his eyes.

"Good morning."

He turns his head to the side, hand automatically moving up to cover his eyes against the bright sunlight pouring over the room. Under the shadow of his hands, he squints at the other side of the bunker and his gaze falls to the last person he wanted to see at the moment.

There, Jean stares back from his side of the bed, leaning back against the wall and feet dangling at the edge. He has a contemplative expression on his face, brows furrowed and a thoughtful look in his eyes as he observes Eren.

"What?" His voice comes out harsher than expected and he flinches before turning away, shame and defensiveness rising in his chest. He curls up to a ball, missing the way Jean clenches his fists for a moment before flexing wide again.

Eren rubs his eyes, his cheeks, and erases the evidence of last night. He remembers the way Mikasa runs gentle hands through his hair as she murmurs their yearly condolences, the way Armin rubbed soothing circles on his back while whispering prayers for the dead.

That is their yearly ritual ever since that faithful day.

And to see Jean the moment he next opened his eyes after that night almost seemed inappropriate.

"I want to be alone right now."

"No."

"Please," Eren shuts his eyes tight, blocking the way his voice sounded weak and hating the other more for his apathy.

But Jean is unrelenting, "Did your family die today?"

The tone startles Eren more than the question. The barely restrained anger pours out Jean's voice; the way his words are uttered from clenched jaw tells Eren that it's different from their mutual irritation with each other.

"I-No…"

"Then," the other bed creaks, footfalls on the wooden floor loud between the two of them, "what the fuck are you doing?"

Hands grabbed him, forcefully turning him to his side that his wide eyes meet Jean's furious ones. His surprise melts and an answering rage bubbles inside him. He slaps the hands away, the sharp sound than the pain prompting Jean to snarl and grip the front of his shirt.

Jean brings their faces closer, a mirror to each own; resentment present in their gaze and ire curving down their lips.

"Are you the only one whose family is killed, Eren? Do you think you're the only one who had to be orphaned? The only one with the right to mourn like a fucking coward and bawl your eyes out every time you remember your dead family?" Jean spats, each word making it harder and harder for Eren to breath. "Huh, Eren? Are you so fucking special?!"

"Jea-" Eren chokes on a sob, holds on to Jean's wrists as he sags down. There are so many things to say, too much to make Jean understand and he doesn't know where to start. So he slumps down, only the other's hold on him keeping him upright and not a sobbing mess in the sheets.

"Eren." He looks up to the sound of his name and the blurry image of Jean makes him realize that there are new tears trailing down his face. "I'm sorry."

Eren swallows the lump in his throat, again surprised as Jean softens and the next thing he knows, he is enveloped in unfamiliar but welcomed warmth. They stay like that for a while, Eren desperately trying to muffle his mouth and stop his tears.

"Why are you doing this?" He whispers, quiet and afraid to break the moment of peace. He feels Jean take a deep breath and the warm released sigh on the back of his neck.

"Because you need to grow up," Jean pulls away a little to look Eren straight in the eyes before breaking out to a small grin. "Only idiots and little babies cry."

"Ass." Eren retorts before pulling back Jean to him.

He dries his face on the other's shirt and tries to muffle his next words.

"Thank you."


	6. Smut

The forest is a good place, Jean thinks.

The foliage provides a screen from wandering gazes, wild animals being a good excuse for the sounds, and the natural smell of greenery masks the scent of sex. Not to mention the added thrill of an unpredictable titan attack.

Bent over on all fours, Eren gasps for breath, a poor excuse of makeshift mat from their clothes under him. Jean kneels behind him, two of his fingers buried to the hilt inside the younger boy and one hand languidly stroking his Eren.

Eren moans loudly as Jean crooks his fingers, intentionally pressing on that particular bundle of nerves. He snickers when Eren looks back over his shoulders and glares, his flushed face and glazed eyes ruining any supposed effect.

"You done yet?" Eren rasps, voice rough with desire, "I've been loose enough ages ago."

"Are you kidding me?" Jean scoffs and momentarily revels at Eren's whine as he stills both of his hands, "We've been doing it like rabbits and you're always so tight every fucking time."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Eren straightens, leaning back against Jean, and the position pushes Jean's fingers deeper inside. It's uncomfortable to his wrist but he doesn't protest, waiting for the next move.

Jean grunts as one hand of Eren reaches back to take hold of his currently neglected erection, the other hand gripping the wrist of Jean's hand that motionlessly circles the base of Eren's own.

When Eren tilted his head back on Jean's shoulder, exposing an unmarked neck, Jean licks his lips and gives in to the urge to bite lightly. He licks a trail to Eren's ears, nibbling a little before reaching Eren's parted mouth. They both groan, the sound stifled by their pressed lips, as their hands move again.

Eren shifts his head back a little, breaking their kiss before softly panting over Jean's lips and, "Fuck me."

Jean sharply nods, pulling out his fingers. It surprises him though when Eren moves away to lie on his back instead of getting back down on his hands and knees.

"What," Jean swallows as his mouth suddenly dries up and Eren pulls up his legs by the back of his knees. "What are you doing?"

The younger boy looks up at him with a hooded gaze, biting his lower lip and looking entirely fuckable to Jean's gaze.

"What are you waiting for?" Eren repeats. And Jean snaps.

He rummages their discarded pants for the cheap latex that they've once stumbled upon in a storage cleaning duty. Along with some extra packet of natural oil that Petra secretly keeps. In his haste, he drops the latex to the ground that, unfortunately, isn't covered with any clothes. He grunts in annoyance and, with a sigh of acceptance from Eren, decides to forego protection. He generously lathers the oil along his length and positions himself, tip barely touching Eren's opening.

"Jean..."

"I swear, Eren," Jean hisses just as he presses in, tight heat engulfing him in one move.

"Wait," Eren groans and Jean stays still for a while. Only their heaving chests are moving, the forest still quiet except for their heavy breathing and animals lingering around. He lets Eren adjust, even if it had only been a few hours since they last did it in the storage room behind the scouting barracks.

"How long?" Jean mutters through clenched jaw. He knows how hard it is from the receiving end but staying still when the only thing that his mind screams at the moment is to move and fuck Eren hard to ground is testing his limits. Especially if the boy lay sprawled and open before him.

He lets his gaze travel along every inch of Eren's exposed skin, drinking in the unmarred beauty thanks to the other's superb healing ability. He will never get tired of this, the way Eren loses control that's not so different from his normal wildly passionate self. His eyes feasts and when their gazes meet, Eren does that lip biting thing and nods. Finally.

This time, it's Jean who loses his control.


	7. Fluff

These are the kinds of days that Eren likes to wake up to.

It's midmorning, the sun halfway to its peak and pouring bright rays into the bedroom. Cool wind blows through the window that's left open from last night, ruffling the edges of the parted curtains tied neatly to its side. Sounds from outside filter in, the lively chatters and general noises of a good morning quieter against the soft snores of his companion right next to his ear.

Eren lays on his side, the comfortable stillness of the room the first thing that he sees as he blinks his eyes open. The warmth chest pressed against his back is more than welcome, as well as the familiar weight draped possessively on his waist keeping the blanket covering the nudity of his torso. Puffs of hot breath tingles his neck, lips barely brushing his skin.

He's satisfied, in more ways than one, unhurried to move and disturb the peace. Eren is perfectly willing to fall back to sleep, to snuggle back in the lean body behind him that's as bare as his own without the flimsy cover of the sheets.

But his mind refuses to despite its sluggishness, a product of being in the scouting legion for years more than he can count on his fingers. No matter, what had happened in the past has been done and over with. He would be the first one to say that the results had been more than worth it.

This morning, among the many others to come and had gone by since then, has been proof enough for that.

"Eren…" A sleepily mumble followed by a press of lips on his bare shoulders and momentary tightening of the hold on his waist informs him that his partner is awake. A leg slipping in between his own cements that fact and Eren tries to fight off the ridiculous smile tempting to appear on his face. He shifts on his other side, bringing his face almost nose to nose with the other.

"Morning, Jean." Eren fails to smother the grin when he saw Jean's disgruntled face.

"You're entirely too chipper this morning." Jean mutters, moving for a proper kiss. Eren wouldn't have it though, moving back his head slightly. "What?" Jean frowns.

Eren scrunches his nose, "You know I love you but," he brings one hand up to gesture to their mouths, "morning breath."

Jean rolls his eyes but still slightly reddens at Eren's offhanded confession (even though it's neither the first nor the fiftieth time). He clears his throat to dispel his embarrassment before scoffing, "How old are you again?"

"That's not the point." Eren glares. Their relationship is built on arguments and love and more arguments after all.

"What is?" An eyebrow rose, Jean's composure slowly rebuilds as sleepiness fades away.

"Ugh, fine!" Blowing out a breath, Eren cups Jean's face and leans close enough that only a mere space separates their lips. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Eren closes the gap.

Their lips meld, pressing tight and tighter, until they both start opening their mouths and Jean's tongue snakes out to briefly swipe across Eren's bottom lip. But the moment it continues on inside and meets Eren's own, with intent to play and coax the other, Jean grimaces as Eren winces.

They spring apart, distaste evident in their faces, and Jean moves to lie on his back and stares at the ceiling.

"I told you." Eren complains, shifting closer and burying his face in the crook of Jean's neck.

"Yeah, well," Jean grumbles from above him, hand coming up to lightly thread on Eren's disheveled hair. "You didn't tell me enough."

They're both silent for a moment, always comfortable at each other's arms.

"Hey, Eren?" He pulls back a little, looking up at Jean questioningly. "Happy anniversary." Jean utters, a flush on his face but gazing back steadily.

Eren starts, momentarily surprised because Jean rarely verbalizes his feelings unlike him who's very vocal about it. A happy feeling spreads from his chest to the tips of his fingers and toes, and god, he loves Jean so much.

"Yeah, I love you too."

It takes a moment for Eren to realize that he's said his thoughts out loud and that Jean responded. If that's not the cue to smother Jean with kisses, morning breath and all, then Eren doesn't know what is.

Best. Day. Hands down.


	8. HorrorTragedy

Thump, thump, thump.

It's the sound of footsteps; loud enough to be deafening, heavy enough to shake the earth, large enough to crush any human being.

It echoes in the silence of an abandoned town, rattles the remaining dilapidated buildings and crumbling houses. Everything is crushed under the weight of each steps, gone and destroyed in an instant.

"Right flank! Thirty to the east!" Jean shouts, hoarse voice barely being being heard in the hooves of the horses beating fast on the ground and the thunderous steps of the titans nearing behind them. He takes the reins of his horse in one hand and steers hard right as he fires a green smoke signal towards the East. His words are repeated behind him, sounds of the same shots echoes and the sky is painted with streaks of green.

It is- had been- a simple scouting exercise.

A simple training to teach the new recruits from the 106th batch the field maneuvers that they need to learn by heart to survive. To show the them the prowess of the Scouting Legion, that the faction they chose is worth their decision.

They hadn't been far from Rose, just a few kilometers away enough to drill and practice the coordination required for each legion troops. Most of Jean's friends from the 104th are present, the two years worth in the legion earning themselves the title of veterans and the position of team leaders. The fact that they have lasted the two whole batches with limbs still perfectly intact despite the high turnover rate alone cements it.

On the left flank was Eren, Connie, and Mikasa, leading another group of troops a few kilometers away from them. With Jean are Sasha and Armin, on the right flank to act as front forward, right center and left center. It leaves them in the outmost positions, the newest recruits in the middle to easily follow their movement, and, in the worst case, be in the front and away if a titan comes their way and they had to double back.

But they never expected the attack that came from Rose behind them.

Thump, thump, thump.

It's the sound of a fist that sends an emergency signal. Too fast to be understood, too late to be noticed. It leaves vain hope in its wake, that it is heard and that help was coming.

"Keep hitting the trees! One, three, one, one! Repeat!"

The rhythmic noise of flesh hitting barks resounds in the quiet forest. The leaves rustles, falls down to large faces waiting down below the tall trees. The repetitive sounds make the inhuman faces cock to the sides, drool dripping down lax mouths at the abundance of treats up the tree branches.

The back-up plan is to meet in the forest, hide in the cover of trees and the relatively safe high branches. The first level code had been deux-beta, second was quad alpha, and the highest: alpha tri-beta.

The whole squad had been divided further than left and right. Jean's group headed East, circling the forest to enter from the other end. His own is a mess, Mikasa and Connie had been separated from them upon entrance and leading their own number of people from the left flank.

"Sir! No one is coming for us!" A trainee shouts, horror painted in his eyes and shaking body. "I don't want to to die here!" He crouches, the gears starting to whir in motion-

"No-!" Because Eren knows what will happen, had seen enough, experienced enough-

His posture was all wrong and the trees were barely near. The strings shoot out, one end piercing a strong bark and the other end passing straight through a leaf. He swings down, down, down-

Eren's eyesight fades as red rains down the forest floor.

Thump, thump, thump.

The sound of a beating heart, alive and pumping blood through frayed nerves and torn limbs. It's loud in Jean's ears as he landed stumbling in a large branch, holding one of his wrist that's missing a hand to his chest.

He's the last to arrive.

He counts thirty-three arms and eight pairs of legs of the 106th squad. He spots Connie, missing a third of his head. Sasha dangles from a low branch, wires wrapped tight around her neck. Armin leans against a tree root, eyes blown wide and bloodshot. He's missing his body from the neck down.

Finally Jean notices Mikasa. As always, she's still near the one constant person she wouldn't leave. She almost looks peaceful in her place, like a precious stone in a sparkling jewelry. She hangs suspended with the sharp metal ends of the wires protruding from her chest as it loops around a large neck.

And, as always, Eren never appreciates her beauty. Even in his titan form, Eren disregards a beautiful lifeless girl decorating his bare chest.

But how could he, when his dark, dark eyes are meeting Jean's bright ones?

Thump, th-thump, thu-


	9. Slice of Life

"Want to dance?"

Jean tilts his head to the side, his gaze falling on Sasha's extended hand and the cheshire grin on her face. He snorts, turning away to continue staring back at the mass of bodies in the dance floor.

"No, thanks."

Loud club music almost drowns out his words. The place vibrates with each beat of music, bright streaks of green, red, and blue lights chasing each other in semi-darkness.

"Okay, then," Sasha slides inside the booth across him, snatching an unattended glass and downing its content. "I think I saw Eren near the bar."

"So?"

"I just thought you should know." When Jean looks over, Sasha was grinning knowingly at him. "Especially if you know who's keeping him upright at the moment."

He glares, and if looks could mutilate... "Where is he?"

"By the bar. Near the corridor to the bathrooms." Sasha vaguely waves at the direction, attention now focused on the food left in the table, "Might want to hurry before he could profess his undying love to the boss. Levi's -"

Jean was out the booth before Sasha could finish her sentence, muffled snickers following him out as he strides with a determined focus to the bar. He spots two familiar set of hair and his steps unconsciously get wider and faster.

"-oron, I am going to cut off your tongue and see if you could drink again, you stupid kid, goddamn useless pile of height."

Jean pauses as he sees the weird sight of Levi's shorter frame hauling Eren's laughing one and trying to keep him from taking residence at the floor. Jean was about to smirk until he sees where Levi was currently touching to achieve that goal.

"Sir!" Jean hurries, moving to Eren's other side and slinging the other's hand over his shoulders.

"Jean?" Eren slurs, lips stretched into a ridiculous smile.

"Finally!" Levi drops Eren and the sudden full weight of Eren dropping to Jean makes him stagger. Eren laughs.

"I'll, uh, take care of him." Jean mutters to Levi, face turned away and hoping the dim light hides the red from Levi's gaze. Eren, deciding he dislikes being ignored and channeling his inner monkey, moves to face Jean before hooking both arms over Jean's nape. Jean automatically loops his arms on Eren's waist for balance.

"Oh...?" Levi grins, familiarly sadistic, and Jean tries to take a step back. He stumbles on a bar stool.

"Uh."

Levi rolls his eyes, scoffing, "Get home in one piece." He turns away and starts to walk before, "I want him to be able to walk tomorrow." Levi smirks over his shoulder and Jean thinks he's going to dread going to work from this day on.

As soon as Levi disappears in the sea of bodies, Jean starts moving towards the booth. Maneuvering the two of them back, which was now blessedly empty of Sasha or any of their co-workers, Jean pushed Eren down the seat, shoving him to the inner part. It was no easy task and Jean finds himself sitting down beside Eren and trying to regain his bearings. The whole process probably flushed the alcohol out of his system as he feels sober enough to focus intently on Eren's face.

"Jean?"

"Mm?" Jean licks his dry lips.

"Last week," Eren says, words Jean has to strain to hear. "What did you want to say?" He moves closer to Jean and in his inebriated state, only succeeds in falling to Jean's arms. In this position, Eren's head was positioned so damn near his neck, every puffs of breath raising the hairs on his nape.

"It's nothing." Jean retorts, his voice deeper than usual.

"Tell me."

"It's – "

A hand suddenly cups his jaw, tilting his head to the side, and another pair of dry lips presses to his own. The kiss was sudden and Eren's closed eyelids were so near that Jean finds his own eyes slipping shut, mouth moving against the pressure. It doesn't taste sweet nor something identifiable as Eren but it was a kiss Jean was going to remember for a long time.

It ends eventually, something that Jean regrets but he doesn't continue. Instead he tilts his head back just enough that their foreheads were resting against each other, their lips barely centimeters apart. Jean relishes the moment for a while, their little own world in the middle of loud music and noise, and they stay like that until their breathing evens out. Jean parts his lips, finally finding his voice to say three little words.

"I lo – "

A snore cuts him off, Eren's head sliding down and hitting Jean's nose in the way.

Cursing silently and eyes watering at the sudden sting, Jean catches Eren before the other completely slides down in a heap. He moves them in a comfortable position, Eren's body leaning heavily on Jean and head pillowed on his shoulders.

Jean sighs, but despite his annoyance, his lips keep twitching up as Eren keeps letting out soft snores right next to his ears.

Attempt two: Maybe next time. 

* * *

FIN.

_Sorry for the ugly formatting, I had no time to edit. Also, this collection is missing a chapter (Crack), however, since FFnet doesn't allow embedded images unfortunately. If anybody wants to read, just head to my profile. The link is there. ^^ This chapter is also part of a longer WIP (8 Ways to Say I Love You) at AO3. _


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